"Open" by Rhye

Song: Open
Artist: Rhye
Album: Woman
Also try:  Miguel, Frank Ocean, Janelle Monae
Commentary: I got Rhye's Woman in the spring with a few other albums and Woman didn't immediately stand out. A few more listens, though, had Michael Milosh crooning album opener "Open" in my head. The whole album's worth some listens too. Nice instrumentation, killer hook.

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"Loose Lips" by Kimya Dawson

Song: Loose Lips
Artist: Kimya Dawson
Album: Remember that I Love You
Also try: 
Commentary: Twice this summer I made connections with people about anti-folk songs I listened to in high school. I don't think I'd ever said the word "anti-folk" or discussed the genre with anyone. Part of me believed it only existed ephemerally in a network of websites frequented by teenagers in the early aughts. And since I'm in 20th grade now, and no longer 9th, I was amused to hear an 8th grader singing Kimya Dawson's 2004 non-hit, "Loose Lips" a month ago. She was insufficiently impressed with my hip knowledge of hip music, but I know I'm "with it". What?!? "Loose Lips" was in Juno? I LISTENED TO ANSTY PANTS BEFORE JUNO! Man, forget Juno.

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"Thy Chosen Bride" by Daniel Higgs

Song: Thy Chosen Bride
Artist: Daniel Higgs (frontman of Lungfish)
Album: Ancestral Songs
Also try:  Lungfish, Danielson, DM Stith, David Eugene Edwards
Commentary: Sort of raga-style banjo noodling and make sure you wait for the vocals. I don't know what draws me to the devout mystic fervor of the likes of David Eugene Edwards, Danielson, and Daniel Higgs, but I find it pretty enthralling.

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"Heartbreaks + Setbacks" by Thundercat

Song: Heartbreaks + Setbacks
Artist: Thundercat
Album: Apocalypse
Also try:  Miguel, Frank Ocean
Commentary: It was the co-production by Flying Lotus that drew me, but it was the slightly off-kilter electro-beat that kept me. Catchy, but definitely fits my criterion of being interesting/different enough to be worth a listen.

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"Catfish" by Waxahatchee

Song: Catfish
Artist: Waxahatchee
Album: American Weekend
Also try:  Liz Phair, Mirah, Microphones, Perfume Genius, Scout Niblett
Commentary: I hate posting the first song from an album, because it looks like I'm not even trying. But this song is an excellent intro to an excellent album. I've been sneaking away from my job all summer to find a quiet place to absorb Waxahatchee's genius. The new album, Cerulean Salt, is pretty groovy too, but I'm a sucker for that lo-fi aesthetic, if you haven't noticed yet.

"When a Fire Starts to Burn" by Disclosure

Song: When a Fire Starts to Burn
Artist: Disclosure
Album: Settle
Commentary: This is one of the songs I played to get the teenagers moving at summer camp this year. It worked.
Note: I don't think the video is particularly sensitive to people's religious practices. However, Christians are not an oppressed class (despite claims to the contrary). So, it doesn't seem like as big as a deal to me to depict vaguely Christian motions in a fictional motivational speech setting.

PS - Summer hiatus is over. Surprise.
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